Yamal takes measures to protect reindeer herders from anthrax

Authorities of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area are taking all the measures necessary to protect indigenous peoples of the tundra from anthrax after the dangerous outbreak last year, the region's Governor Dmitry Kobylkin said at the International Meeting of Representatives of Arctic Council Member States, which is taking place in the village of Sabetta on the Kara Sea coast.

"At present, we have taken all the measures necessary to protect Yamal reindeer herders from dangerous diseases. Reindeer herds are being vaccinated and chipped. The population and specialists at risk are being vaccinated, too," TASS quotes Kobylkin as saying.

An anti-epizootic team has been created in the area, and there are enough resources to prevent and fight infected regions. "Strict quality control is observed at Yamal processing plants which comply with the highest international standards; reindeer products are EU-certified. Last year, a full-scale rescue operation to eliminate the bacteriological threat took place in the severe Arctic conditions, on a large hard-to-reach territory. There is no precedent in the Arctic," the governor noted.

According to TASS, the indigenous population in the area is 42,000, and 14,000 of them still live as nomads and shepherd the world's largest reindeer herds